By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi
MASAKA-UGANDA/NEWSDAY; A Shs.16.8 billion shillings project for rehabilitation and development of Masaka Recreation Ground to the international standards has been endorsed by stakeholders who convened last Friday June 17th at Mapleaf hotel.
The two-year project will, if it is the will of God, start with six billion shillings that has been allocated by Parliament of Uganda in the next Financial Year 2022/2223, and the balance will be in the next financial year of 2023/2024. Already available on the district account is Shs.2bn.
The stakeholders who included the three Masaka city Members of Parliament and Leader of Opposition; Mathias Mpunga Nsamba (NUP-Nyendo Mukungwe), Dr.Abed Bwanika (NUP-Kimaanya Kabonera) who chaired the meeting, and Juliet Kakande (NUP Woman). Others were the Resident City Commissioner Ronald Katende Kinene and his deputies; Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi (Kimaanya Kabonera) and Naava Mastullah Nakibuule (Nnyendo Mukungwe), Mayor Florence Namayanja, City Clerk Geoffrey Bamanyisa, City Internal Security Officer Obadiah Musimenta, city councilors, division chairpersons and councilors, heads of department, business forum and others.
Mpuuga said that this was a collective work of the three MPs who lobbied for it and was happy that the dream had become real. It is however important to note that while the MPs have done their noble duty, President Yoweri Museveni and NRM Government should also be gratified for cabinet, ministry of Finance or Parliament itself when the majority MPs are NRM, could have sabotaged it. However since one of the cardinal principles of NRM is patriotism and in service delivery there is no discrimination, cabinet and parliament supported the project.
City Clerk Geoffrey Bamanyisa said that the project should not be seen as owned by Masaka city alone, but of Greater Masaka or South Buganda as a sub region.
The stakeholders after a technical presentation, agreed that Masaka Recreation Ground should not only be hosting Baganda Bika (clan) and Masaza (inter counties) tournaments, as the Kabaka is scheduled to launch Masaza tournament at the Recreation Ground this Saturday June 25th, God willing, but also a national and international tournaments the same way Kakindu Stadium in Jinja , Mandela Memorial Stadium Nambole and St. Mary Kitende act.
The recreation ground will have a stadium for various sporting activities, a 50-room hotel, restaurants and bars, a health club and others. It will have an exclusive lodge for the President and Kabaka of Buganda.
They resolved to invite FUFA , National Council of Sports and managers of Kitende and Lugazi stadiums to give technical advice and the time frame for all this is within a month as the Financial Year commences on July 1st 2022.
Fortunately, an ambitious program for reconstruction and lighting of Masaka city streets is going on under USMID. Piped water is expanded where the city will rely on a plant at Bukakkata on shores of Lake Victoria, other than Nabajjuzi stream where the municipality’s supply relies. Feeder roads like Nyendo-Bukakkata, Villa-Maria-Ssembabule-Kanoni-Mpigi have been completed. Bukoba Road reconstruction is soon commencing, among others.
There is a Uganda Railway Master Plan which is going to establish rail transport in all the major areas of Uganda. Unfortunately, Greater Masaka and Greater Luwero are not included.
Masaka being an agricultural area where bananas, coffee, cereals like maize, beans, ground nuts, and cattle, goats and poultry arevmajor income earners, it should be included in the rail transport. Kampala-Masaka-Bukakkata-Mutukula will be a productive rail line.
Equally, Luwero-Nakaseke-Nakasongola axis will be productive as Nakasongola is one of the cities scheduled to start in 2025, and which is Uganda’s future national political capital as it is centrally located with a good flat terrain. Let us sing with Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah; Forward ever, backward never.
Haji Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi is a veteran journalist and Deputy City Resident Commissioner for Masaka city. Contact: hajiahmedkateregga2016@gmail.com
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